Tag Archives: #newyork

First off we must say we can not believe it is December 1st already! Where did this year go? Besides December,

We have been thinking a lot about bodysuits lately, I know weird right? This is just a how a fashionista’s brain works. However, the amazing one piece has gone to such great heights in the summertime, especially with some high-waisted shorts! However, what about the winter? And yes, we are talking about our California winter. So, maybe a few extra layers if you are on the east coast. We’ve found that bodysuits are the answer to our sartorial prayers. Not only do they stay in place when tucked into high-waisted pants and skirts, but they’re also thin enough that they don’t add any unnecessary bulk. Under pretty blouses, the extra layer will keep you oh so warm and extend the life of your favorite summery tops. We wanted to share with you, 13 ways to keep that bodysuit fresh on deck in your closet.

Give new life to your summery tops by layering a long sleeve-bodysuit underneath.

Fashion girls are all pairing their band tees with long sleeve-tops for winter.

Dress up your favorite jeans with a pretty lace bodysuit.

With a pencil skirt, this piece is super flattering.

A ribbed bodysuit is an ideal piece to tuck into high-waisted pants—it doesn’t budge.

Or this button-down option bodysuit, for some extra style points.

Give us all the mesh in the world, please! Loose-fitting trousers balance out a see-through bodysuit.

Swap out an average turtleneck for a turtleneck bodysuit, and never fuss with keeping it tucked in again.

Copy and paste this look for all your holiday party festivities.

An off-the-shoulder piece looks fun with jeans and heels.

Your next going-out outfit need a sheer piece.

Fashion girls are inspiring us to keep wearing our breezy summer tops all through the winter by layering them over a turtleneck bodysuit.

Turtlenecks again—under blouses and button-downs, they bring new life into our wardrobes (and add an extra layer of warmth).

Hope you enjoy these style options for that banging bodysuit!

Let us know some of your favorite pair up’s with that heavenly one piece in the comments below!

Plus-size and transgender models on the runway has so far been limited to a model or two per show. That’s not to denigrate those models and designers who promote body positivity; rather, it only confirms that, despite the progress made, there’s still room for improvement. We know improvement is on the way, however we were pleasantly surprised when we sat down for NY Fashion Week to see this improvement first hand.

At swim and activewear brand Chromat, the clothes tell a story as much as the models who wear them. We wanted you guys to take the opening look at the New York Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2018 runway on Friday night: a blue-black cropped bathing suit top replete with trendy underboob, a Lara Croft Tomb Raider-esque harness, and G-string. It would have been show-defining on its own, but designer Becca McCharen-Tran didn’t cast a straight-size cisgender (non-transsexual) woman, as is the norm in fashion, to open her show. She cast transgender model and activist Leyna Bloom.Plus-size models may be underrepresented relative to the plus-size market, but so too are trans models. Last season, trans models represented 0.17 percent of all model castings, with only 12 appearances, according to the Fashion Spot’s runway-diversity report, making transgender people the least-represented group in fashion.

For Spring 2017, transgender models constituted 0.11 percent of all runway castings in other words, 10 appearances. That’s a slight increase from the Fall 2016 season, which saw eight transgender model castings in total and double the prior season, which saw five. Eight of the 10 sightings took place in New York and four of those occurred at Chromat, where designer Becca McCharen-Tran enlisted Carmen Carrera, Leyna Bloom, Maya Monès and Aurel Haize Odogbo to showcase her architectural pieces (and, in so doing, make the case against tokenism). Ines Rau represented at Hood By Air, known ally of the transgender community. That same day, designer Rio Uribe featured Monès, Torraine Futurum and Farideh Arbanian in his club kid-geared Spring 2017 presentation. “I imagined a man borrowing his girlfriend’s lingerie or wives borrowing their husbands’ shirts and vice versa, with all of it standing for what Gypsy Sport is about: mixing genders, mixing roles, mixing identities,” Uribe told WWD.

Across the pond, Greta La Medica walked for Fausto Puglisi; she was the only transgender model hired in the city for the entire week. Ditto for Lea Tisci, who represented the transgender community in Paris at her namesake’s latest Givenchy showing.

Also making an appearance on the Chromat runway: Jordyn Woods, a Wilhelmina-signed plus-size model popping up all over New York Fashion Week, first made famous for being Kylie Jenner’s best friend (the audience burst into applause when she appeared); older models, thicker and thinner; and racially representative women with natural hair and natural bodies. Stateside, the body-positive movement is gaining unprecedented momentum. The fact that New York’s Spring 2017 runways featured the most plus-size model appearances in recent history is, in a way, a quantification of this progress. Refreshingly, plus models graced high fashion runways and names other than Ashley Graham appeared on programs. Christian Siriano cast five of the top curvy models — Marquita Pring, Alessandra Garcia Lorido, Precious Lee, Sabina Karlsson and Georgia Pratt — in his Capri-inspired presentation. Pring took a turn down Tome’s runway. Tracy Reese featured curvy model and activist Desseaux along with curvy non-models, like Kristi Henderson. Karlsson, Denise Bidot, Diana Veras, Iskra Lawrence and Victoria Gomez strolled Chromat’s ever-diverse catwalk.

That said, body diversity continues to lag far behind racial diversity. Of the 2,973 model appearances in New York, plus-size models accounted for 16 spots, which translates to a lowly 0.54 percent. Widen your scope to all of Fashion Month and that number shrinks to 0.18 percent. (Nowhere in Europe did a plus-size model grace the runway.)

Season for season, it seems the only constant is that curvy models account for less than 1 percent of the runway. For Fall 2016, there were but six (albeit less concentrated) plus-size castings. The prior season (Spring 2016) saw 14 plus-size model appearances — all of which came out of Addition Elle and Chromat in New York.

As for the clothes: There were metallic and denim, structural bodices, and reworked corsets suspiciously similar to Instagram-beloved Orseund Iris corsets. Oh, and there were anti-chafe thigh bands, both on the runway and included in guests’ gift bags. And so by the show’s end, Chromat inspired cheers and applause and praise from an exuberant audience; if only it could inspire that within fashion, with a capital F.

What were your thoughts about diversity in the Spring 2017 New York Fashion Runway?

Lately, we have had our heads wrapped around a lot of designers, couture dresses, and astonishing fashion weeks from New York to Paris. So we wanted to take a step back and refocus our attention on what we love the most & inspired us to find fashion! Some serious street style. One person who inspires our street style attention is a huge influence in the industry. It doesn’t mater if she’s on the Balmain runway or simply running errands around town with her gorgeous family.

Alessandra Ambrosio will always catch your eye. The Brazilian model and well known Victoria’s Secret Angel who recently stunned on the red carpet in a on-of-a-kind J Mendel gown, continously brings her fashion A game, but her killer street style is one we had to shine the light on. From trendy 70’s flared out jeans, to spring-redy white pants, sunglasses, and bright colors. We wanted to show off and admire some of Alessandra’s best out-and-about looks this year!

JANUARY 2016

FEBRUARY/ MARCH 2016

APRIL 2016

MAY 2016

JUNE 2016

JULY 2016

AUGUST 2016

SEPTEMBER 2016

OCTOBER 2016

Hope Alessandra’s amazing street style will be of inspiration to your awesome style! Which outfit is your favorite? We know which one is ours!

You know how much we love fashion, and not too mention how much we LOVE NYFW. This year has been amazing so far, so many great new looks from so many great designers. We also are so excited to see all of the social media bloggers, vloggers, and style watchers out at the show and loving their street style! The runway looked absolutely flawless with super models like Kendal Jenner. So though we have so much to share, we had to start with some highlights of some absoultely fabulous designers and their offerings on the runway this year!

RALPH LAUREN

Ralph Lauren and his luxurious take on the American West. Ralph Lauren’s New York Fashion Week collection included fringed jackets, embroidered western-style shirts, southwestern ponchos, macrame and cowboy hats. He presented his collection in a runway show on the street outside his store, then invited guests inside to buy what they’d just seen. Lauren not only gave a show, but showed us his great marketing skills of his brand and got watchers excited about buying pieces from his line. “Today I am proud to share with you, for the first time ever, my new women’s collection right off the runway and into your lives,” the venerable designer wrote in a statement. “You are changing the way you live and the way you want to shop, and we are changing with you and for you.” The block of Madison Avenue fronting his store was closed off for the glamorous event, held in a temporary glass structure that resembled a greenhouse.

The show literally stopped traffic. “I have always been inspired by the rugged beauty and romance of the American West,” Lauren wrote. “The September Collection is imbued with that spirit, but reinterpreted in a modern glamorous way for the woman whose style is both personal and luxurious.” The show began with items in black, tan, white and brown. It was only toward the end that bright color suddenly popped up with shimmery, slinky dresses in purple, deep pink, red, yellow and bright blue. The real Ralph Lauren color palette we all love so much. At the end, the artist himself, Lauren came out in washed-out jeans, and a work shirt. He came out for his customary wave to the crowd, stopping to make a happy gesture that resembled a flamenco move. Then he retreated into his store, where champagne and caviar and the new clothing, of course awaited the invited guests.

MARCHESA, CHAPMAN & CRAIG

Designers Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig at Marchesa say they have no trouble thinking of ideas for each new season. “Georgina will call me in the morning and say, ‘I’ve had a dream, I’ve had a thought, we’re gonna do this,'” Craig said in a backstage interview. “The ideas just flow.” Added Chapman: “At the end of the day we have our DNA in the clothes, that we’re very true to, and we enjoy it and we laugh.” For their spring collection, the designers and red-carpet regulars focused on what they called the journey of a day, from sunrise to twilight to darkness. Don’t you just love that description? On the runway, light pinks were for sunrise and yielded to silvery blues and silvers, perhaps for dew. There was gold, to evoke sunlit wheat fields. There was black, too, of course, for the deep night. There were florals galore, some fringe as in a tiered fringe column gown in blue tulle and of course lots of lavish embroidery. Chapman and Craig established their brand more than a decade ago, but say they still haven’t tired of working together. Which we think is true destiny of design partners in crime. “In fact on Saturday night we had a girlie sleepover,” Craig said. “We did,” agreed Chapman. “We sent the kids and husbands away, since we had to work. We had some wine and a good giggle.”

MICHAEL KORS

Michael Kors put Rufus Wainwright on his runway to belt Judy Garland tunes as models walked in bringing florals and looks in classic navy and white. Kors said in an interview he was thinking about that old chestnut, “‘She’s a real dame,'” a la Barbara Stanwyck and Katharine Hepburn back in the ’40s and Kim Basinger in the ’80s.”These women were sly and feminine but they were definitely in control,” Kors said. He delivered that attitude in sharp tailoring of shoulders and cinched waists, mixed with things like a wide-belted trench coat with an asymmetrical hem, pleated palazzo pants and shoulder-to-wrist rows of ruffles on the sleeves of one collared, see-through button-down blouse. “Something that catches the breeze,” Kors said. Kors, bending to the “see now, buy now” trend, made some looks immediately available, but most of the collection he called timeless, the “opposite of fast fashion.” As we all know, Kors has struggled with critics of his fast fashion designs and couture designs. So this year he made sure everyone knew the difference! That was true of navy blue coats, day dresses and sparkly black evening wear. It might not be true of little bra top and romper sets in browns, or oversized sleeves flopping over hands.

Stay tuned for more updates on NYFW, and we hope your having as much fun at the show as we are!

This year, more than ever, holiday shoppers are gearing up for the fantastic deals Black Friday and Cyber Monday bring. However, one question remains…Which will have better deals? We’ve compiled a list of some of the best deals high-end retailers have to offer this year and it looks like it’s going to be pretty even. But what do you think? Are you pumped up for Black Friday or cooling your jets for Cyber Monday?

Let’s take a look at some great sales happening this Holiday season.

BLACK FRIDAY-Brick & Mortar

Nordstrom

Starting Thursday, November 27th, select brands will be on sale in stores. Then on Friday, the 28th, an extra 20% off will be added to the already marked down sale items. That means double savings!! In addition, Nordstrom is offering free shipping and free returns.

Macys

This Friday, handbags and accessories will be getting an extra percentage off! The exact number has not been confirmed (the anticipation is killing us!) but be on the look out for designer brands such as Dooney and Bourke, COACH, and Michael Kors.

*New York Specials*

Carlo Pazolini

All four NYC locations will have 40% off ALL in-store items. This includes, Italian lifestyle women’s and men’s shoes and accessories. Very rarely do designer items go on sale, so be sure to take advantage of this amazing sale.

NYGARD

If you needed a reason to head over to Times Square this Black Friday, now you have one. Get an extra 25% off their Holiday collection and enjoy a designer sample sale. Women’s tops starting at $10, sweaters at $20, and dresses & coats at $30.

Bird

All three NYC locations will be offering 30-40% off select merchandise. This includes items from designers such as Alexander Wang, Rachel Comey, and Band of Outsiders, As well as accessories from Pamela Love, Proenza Schouler, and more.

CYBER MONDAY- Online

Kate Spade

Kate Spade is actually in the midst of a sale they are calling “Surprise Sale” that includes handbags and other small accessories up to 75% off. This sale is good through Sunday, November 29th.

Ralph Lauren

High quality basics will be receiving an additional 25% off items previously marked down on Black Friday. Again this is double savings on designer items-this almost never happens! Sale items will include “winter-ready outerwear” and shoes.

Tommy Hilfiger

This is another clothing store expected to have their best sales on Monday rather than Friday. A percentage is yet to be announced, but if it’s anything like last year where prices were cut in half, we will definitely be there.

Michael Kors

Starting now, there is 50% off all bags-yes, ALL bags. In addition, some retailers such as Nordstrom, will be offering 50% off apparel and select outlets will offer up to 70% off! In addition, all online orders will receive free shipping, no minimum required.

*Sneak Peek of Online Sales (Select retailers)*

Uggs 50% off

COACH 66% off

Louis Vuitton 50% off

North Face 62% off

Now, this is just a little taste of some of the amazing deals happening in the next few days. Unfortunately for us, many sales will not be announced until the morning of, but that makes it all the more exciting right!? For those of you unable to make the Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals, not to worry! Many retailers will continue their sales though December so there will be plenty of time to snag those Holiday treats!